west, jim aelrod is in downtown maattan at t tip of m a what's tt there? >> reporter: anthousny, j with the last hour the rain has startedo intensify, the wind has picked up. you can hear a sound as the wind whips through the skyscrapers of lower manhattan that sound like a jet engine and it seems as though new york is really about to feel the full force of hurricane sandy. the big concern is the water right over my shoulder. all eyes are on the sea wall. if that water comes up over the sea wall and works its way into the electricity generating equipment that's in lower manhattan and into the subway stations in lower manhattan there could be very serious implications. anthony? >> mason: jim axelrod, thanks, jim. that was dramatic rescue at sea aboard a ship you may recognize from the movies. and two presidential campaigns are derailed by a hurricane. that's ju,,,,,,,,,,,,,, >> mason: the hurricane forced the presidential candidates to suspend their campaigning for a couple days. john dickerson is our political director. john, with just a week until election day, how is this going t